


Dangerous Company

by Chippani



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: A wild percabeth has appeared, Alternate Universe - No Gods (Percy Jackson), And very poorly edited, Hazel finally makes an appearance, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Yet another fic I may not finish, at least I had a cool idea, now featuring: the worst summary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-01-05 16:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21211514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chippani/pseuds/Chippani
Summary: Nico never expected to fall in love. Then again, he hadn't expected to become an assassin for 13 years. Life was unpredictable that way.When he falls for a kind nurse that saves his life, he has to find a way to save them both from the past he's trying so desperately to leave behind.Life never really works that way though, does it?





	1. In which Will saves a dying man without question

**Author's Note:**

> All of this is a work in progress. Even the title. I may not even finish it. A bad habit of mine.  
Inspired by a ton of different fics, but I can't remember them all. That's just how I operate.
> 
> Not gonna give too much away yet. I will say, there is a very good reason I went with nurse instead of doctor for Will. Also, I know nothing about the assassin business. Basically, I was thinking about John Wick when I got the idea and it spiraled out of control.

Nico stumbled as he entered the dark alley. It smelled like a restaurant dumpster left out in the hot Texas sun all day with a dead hobo underneath it, but he didn't care. He was alive, for now, and that was all that mattered. Soon he'd be able to rendezvous with the others and they'd figure out what to do next.

_If you survive that long,_ his brain reminded him with another blinding wave of pain. He clutched the wound in his gut and forged on.

The further he got, the more inevitable death seemed. He'd already lost a lot of blood, the cut on his leg was burning more with each step and his head was feeling way too light. To say he was in bad shape would be an understatement. If he didn't get help soon, he'd likely die in the trash covered alley.

_Maybe it's better that way,_ a voice whispered in his ear, _that way more innocent people won't die because of you._

Perhaps that was what convinced him to finally give in and collapse to the cold, hard ground. Or maybe it was the fact that most of his body had become cold and numb. Either way, he didn't have it in him to watch more strangers pass unknowingly by.

* * *

Will hated the cold with a passion. Why he'd moved to and stayed in New York was a mystery. The only reason he was still suffering such a crule thing instead of being curled up in bed was his stupid, caring heart. Some days, he wished he didn't care so much.

He'd just been walking home when he heard paper slide on the ground, then a distinct thud. Normally he would have just assumed it was a drunk passing out after having one too many, but something made him pause. These instincts were what made him notice the man at all. Maybe he would have ignored him then too, if he hadn't seen the blood.

So there he was, kneeling in a filthy alley and checking a possibly homeless man for injuries besides the cut from his nose to his ear. Perhaps seeing a gunshot wound should have made him scramble to call an ambulance, but his instincts had other ideas. Perhaps he needed to stop listening to those instincts.

He did the best he could to staunch the bleeding, pulling whatever he happened to have in the bag his friends always teased him for carrying. _But who's laughing now? _he thought. Followed quickly by, _literally no one. Who would be laughing right now, dumbass?_

He shook himself from his thoughts and lifted the dark haired stranger from the ground and practically ran home. How lucky he was that his apartment was a mere two blocks away? The difficulties came when he got to the door. He had to juggle a limp noodle of a body and his keys just to unlock the door. And getting in would be it's own problem. Regardless, he made it inside and set the person down before his neighbors could take notice.

There wasn't time to celebrate his small triumphs though, he had a life to save. _Really should have just taken him to the hospital_, he thought as he worked on getting the man's clothes off. From there, things only got harder.

He started by stitching up the gash in his leg, using alcohol to sanatize his needle. Then he had to _somehow_ find the bullet and get it out using a butter knife he'd heated on the stove. Then he still had to bandage him up, which meant he'd be needing to buy more gauze soon.

_Life must really hate me. _He sighed and gritted his teeth, resolved to work through the night if he had to.


	2. The one where Will is a disaster bi and Nico sleeps like the dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is to bi for this. Nico sleeps peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Impulse writting is great and all, but I wonder if any of what I write makes any logical sense.
> 
> Also, I haven't written a fic for this fandom since, like, middle school, so...  
<strike>(I mean, so long as you don't count that angsty crossover fic.)</strike>

Exhausted was one word for how he felt at the moment. Though, after spending several hours trying to save someone's life the way he just had, it was no surprise. Now the worst was over and Will was free to lie back and relax...

Or, he would if there weren't a half naked stranger in his bed.

Normally that wouldn't have been as much of a problem as it currently was. Will was no stranger to the concept of one-night stands, he'd had his fair share of them, in fact. Especially after bad break ups. This, however, was no normal situation. Far from it, in fact.

His sunny yellow sheets were stained with blood, and his blue comforter was tossed unceremoniously to the floor. It did finally make him question his color choices, so that was the bright side. Still...

He sighed softly and checked the man's clothes for any ID. The only thing he'd seen so far was the inscription on his ring, and the various tattoos he had. Will decided it was best to check his pants, then his jacket. Really though, this wasn't the way he wanted to get into anyone's pants. Or the reason.

His hand slipped into the first pocket and the tips of his fingers found nothing. He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. In the end, he only found some change, a button and some lint. So he had to move on to the jacket. He reached into the pocket and his fingers wrapped around cold metal. Confused, he pulled it out and-  
"A butterfly knife?!" His hand jerked and the folded blade flew across the room.

He stared at where it landed for a moment. "Oh, duh. Of course he has a knife. That's pretty normal. Right? Yeah." He tried to convince himself. It wasn't working.

He took a breath to calm himself and went back to looking. In the end, he found a large ammount of cash, the completely black butterfly knife, a roll of strange gold coins, a pack of gum that was nearly empty and yet another button. _Seriously, what is it with this guy and buttons?_

"Who are you?" He wondered aloud as he looked at the man again. His eyes lingered on the man's face. His pale skin looked almost white due to blood loss and his dark hair. Faint freckles dusted his cheeks.

He couldn't help but think of how handsome he was. His hand flew up and struck his cheek. "Focus Solace. We need to know who this guy is." He reminded himself.

His eyes drifted to the tattoos. On the stranger's collar bone there were three ravens. One was flying away as another watched. The final one had a little amulet in it's talons. Looking closer, the one that was flying looked skeletal. It was incredibly unique, so whoever had done it would remember.

His eyes drifted further to the swooping letters on his chest. _"La ragione per cui vivo."_ He'd have to look that up later. Further down, a small skull rested on the man's hip. He could picture himself pressing his lips to that one-

Another slap. He really needed to get it together. He knew next to nothing about this man, he would **not** think about things they could do together. Knowing his luck, the guy was straight. _A guy can dream, _his brain chimed in.

_Shut up._

He sighed and looked at the bandages on his leg. Hopefully the stitches would be fine. He would have to wait and see.

A yawn escaped his body and he glanced at the time. He should have showered and been in bed an hour ago. There was still the problem of the person in his bed though. And he really needed to get his sheets cleaned before the blood stains became permanent. There wasn't much he could do.

Getting a damp rag, he started working on the stains. And if he happened to find his mind wandering, he just had to remind himself he was cleaning blood out of his favorite sheets. _Why didn't I just take him to the hospital?_

* * *

"_What are we gonna do?" Water boy whimpered. "Little Gem was supposed to be here by now."_

_"We're gonna be fine. She's probably just running late." Owl head tried to calm him down. But they knew something was wrong. She was never late._

_Nico glanced out of the window, trying to see what could have possibly slowed her down. He quickly ducked back down and looked at the others. "What is it, Ghost King?"_

_He bit his lip. "I don't think she's coming. She's been talking about leaving for so long, and I think tonight's job was the opportunity she was waiting for. I mean, it was us. We never mess up like we did tonight. She probably thought we wouldn't need an evac."_

_They were silent for a long moment. "You told her they would order us to kill her over this, right?" Owl head said as she moved closer to him, reaching out in an attempt to comfort him._

_"Of course I told her!" He snapped. "And will you be able to do it if you see her?"_

_He didn't answer, but they both knew. He could never do that. What would he do if he did run into her?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I headcannon Will as bi. I also have no idea what I'm doing.


	3. The one where Will unintentionally ignores his phone all day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter summarise are no more.
> 
> Also, someone help me because I have no idea how to actually write this fic.

Will wasn't sure what was worse. The sun in his eyes, the uncomfortable cusions, the faint smell of blood or the unreasonably loud singing voice of his mother. He loved the woman, and she meant a lot to him, but that was not what he wanted to wake up to.

Since it wasn't his alarm, he figured he could get away with ignoring it for a minute. He sat up slowly and glanced bleerily around his apartment. He was supposed to clean his apartment that day, but he really didn't feel like it. Not after the night he'd had. If he weren't afraid of his guest waking up, he'd probably just go back to sleep. Actually, he probably still would have gone back to sleep if nature didn't call at that exact moment. So, he finally got up, though very reluctantly.

With that taken care of, he resigned to actually stay up and make breakfast. Then he would be free to check on his "patient" and clean the apartment. Pan on the stove, eggs on the counter and bread in the toaster he started looking for a plate. A _clean_ plate. One that hadn't been sitting in the dishwasher for three days that he couldn't be sure he'd actually put through a cleaning cycle or just put it in never to think about again. "God, my life is spiraling out of control." He mumbled as he gave in and checked the dishwasher plates. Clean. _Oh, good job me. You remembered to start it._

He set the plate down and went to work. Over-easy wasn't how he normally ate his eggs, prefering them scrambled with ketchup, (a combination that Kayla and Cecil always called disgusting) but he really didn't want to add a bowl and extra fork to the dishes he needed to clean.

The toaster dinged and his toast popped out, making him jump. Then he laughed at himself. "Just how tired am I?" He could cry.

After that, breakfast was pretty uneventful. He did start making a grocery list as he ate. _Butter, milk, creamer, coffee... _He wrote, taking a small bite of his food. Then a soft beeping came from his phone, his default messaging tone to be precise. He paused in his writing, realizing he'd forgotten where he'd actually put his phone. Did he even remember to plug it in?

He got up to start looking for it when it gave half a beep before, supposedly, dying. _Oops._ It was probably safe to assume he didn't plug it in. Perfect. He found it stuffed into the cushions, very much dead, and plugged it in. With that done, he went to his bedroom to check on his nameless guest.

The man was still sleeping peacefully when Will walked in. That made things easier. If only he could hear his phone going off again.

* * *

Something was very _very_ wrong. Nico knew that the moment he started to wake up. For one thing, he was alive. When he'd passed out, he was pretty sure he was going to die. More than that. He was absolutely certain. Another thing, he could hear someone singing. Badly. With only the sound of a vacuum as music. Definitely not what he wanted to wake up to.

Cracking his eyes open, he was irritated to see just how bright it was. Not only that, but he felt a sharp pain in his cheek when he grimaced. And there was that smell lingering in the air. It made his nose itch. At least the blanket was warm.

He started to go back to sleep, but the noise coming from the other room destroyed all chances of that happening. If it weren't for the pain in his gut, he would have gotten up and _silenced_ the damn fool. It would have been easy too. All he needed to do was get out his knife and...

_Wait,_ he paused, _where are my clothes?_

His hand drifted to his abdomen. Skin. Nothing but skin and gauze. He lifted the blanket, looking at the bandaging. It looked freshly changed, and he was happy to note that he at least had his boxers on. He started picking at the edge of the pad, letting the blanket drop.

The sound of the vacuum stopped at some point. He wasn't sure when, but it did help him hear when the owner of the horrible singing voice started heading his way. He could have pretended he was still asleep, but it felt pointless considering this person had saved his life. The least he could do was let them know he would live.

Then the door opened. His breath caught in his throat as light bounced of shaggy, golden waves and sunkissed skin. The man's fashion sense could use some work, as he was wearing light blue sweatpants and a pumpkin orange shirt with the words "hauntingly handsome" in black. Blutooth headphones covered his ears and he bobbed his head, swinging a basket into the room. Then he froze and stared with wide, sky blue eyes, eyebrows darting under his unruly bangs.

Nico swallowed thickly. _I'm too gay for this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nico is finally conscious when Will is present. :)


	4. Finally, they talk... For like, 2 seconds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard for me to write long chapters. I'm sorry.
> 
> Also, I still don't know what I'm doing.

It was silent for a long time. Too long. Nico wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Did he wait for the blonde to move? Or even blink?

When it became unclear if the strange man was even breathing, he decided it was time to act. He sat up best he could, wincing at the stabbing pain in his abdomen. Sure, he'd had worse, but usually he had painkillers handy.

The blonde man snapped out of his daze and rushed over, promptly tripping over his basket. Nico watched as he popped back up and walked over, gently nudging him to lay back down. "Whoa now, take it easy. You were in pretty bad shape when I brought you here. Don't want to hurt yourself any more, right?" He said, quirking his brow. His slight southern twang left something to be desired, but his hand was soft and warm, so Nico allowed himself to be pushed down.

"Says the man who just tripped over his own basket."

The man's eyes widened as he flushed slightly. Nico silently wondered what god gave this man such clear blue eyes. "Oh hush. At least _I_ didn't almost die." Blue eyes finally huffed. "Now, you got a name? Or am I supposed to just call you idiot-that-almost-died?"

Nico paused. What was he supposed to answer _that_ with? He hadn't used his name in so long... Yet that was the only thing that felt right. His eyes drifted back to the blue orbs and he answered,"Nico."

Blue-eyes cheeks reddened even more. "Oh. That's...wow. Oh! I-I'm Will. Solace. Will Solace." He smiled then shook his head. "Ah, right, anywho. You're currently in my apartment. My bed specifically. Most people usually want to know where they are when they wake up, so I figured you'd want that too. And, yeah, I shoulda taken you to the hospital but I just wasn't sure if that was a good idea for you, plus I didn't know anything about you until now, and that's not really much. I mean, for all I know you could be a serial killer-"

_That's not too far off..._

"-but my ma always said I've got a good gut and that I should listen to it. It's worked out great so far. Well, actually it's been 50/50 most days. But...ah... Do...you have any questions?" Will finally stopped rambling. Nico wasn't sure how to respond to that. This man, Will, had taken him into his _home_ and tended to his wounds. Though, really, there was only one question to ask.

"Why?"

"Pardon?" Whatever Will had been expecting him to ask, that wasn't it. "Why what?"

"Why did you help me?" Nico's brow furrowed. No one ever just _helped_ him. They always wanted something from him. Kill this guy, transport these people, _make us dinner_. Curse his Italian blood. They always wanted dinner.

Will must not have wanted him to cook though, as he raised an eyebrow and blinked several times before responding. "Why wouldn't I help you? You were hurt and probably going to die. Does there need to be another reason?" He almost seemed annoyed at the question.

_He has a point,_ his brain chimed in.

"I suppose not. It's just..." _weird? Stupid? Definitely not what most people would do?_ "Unusual for me to see such kindness from anyone." Will's expression softened. There was hurt in his eyes. And maybe some sympathy.

"Oh." The soft sound rang through the quiet room. Cars honked and drove by while pigeons cooed outside. Music spilled out of the headphones abandoned on the floor.

Nico shifted slightly. He hated how quiet it was. At least when he was working, he knew it was better to be so quiet, but here it felt...unnatural. "Well," Will broke the silence, "I guess I'll have to be an exception. Now, I ain't gonna keep you forever, but you're at least staying until your wounds heal. Unless you think I should take you to a hospital-"

"No." _That's the first place they'll look._ "I... Don't care for hospitals. I've seen a few too many in my life. And American healthcare is shit."

Will got a strange look in his eyes. "Hey, it's not that bad. And it's getting better every day." It seemed personal. Nico raised his hands in surrender. It really wasn't worth the argument.

"Alrighty then," Will smiled brightly. "Are you hungry? I think I have something in there you can eat."

Nico nodded and watched the blonde scurry out of the room. Then he rolled his eyes and sat up. He was a little dizzy, but that would pass. Really, all he wanted to do ws see how bad the cut on his face was. Then he would concern himself with his other injuries. Moving carefully, he swung his legs off the bed and hobbled over to the mirror.

The cut on his face was better than he'd thought it would be. He could have sworn it was a deeper cut when he got it, but he could already tell it was healing. That was good. With a nod, he gently pulled off part of the tape on his abdomen. A quick peek wouldn't hurt, right?

He glanced at the door, then sighed and got back in the bed. Will wasn't gonna be happy that he even sat up, no need to upset him any more. He patted the tape back down and waited.

* * *

Will felt like an idiot as he glared down at the bright yellow yolks. Of course the dark, mysterious (and handsome) stranger sounded like _that. _He should have seen it coming, yet...

He flipped the eggs. He didn't need them mocking him right at the moment. At least he knew how to do that without much thought. Eggs were among the few things he knew how to cook. (He'd argue that he knew how to cook salad too, but Lou Ellen and Piper had threatened to pelt him with mashed potatoes for that last time.) _I need to focus,_ he chided himself, _just finish the food and get him some painkillers-_

_Painkillers._

His blood ran cold. Did he remember to get painkillers last time he went out? Did Leo remember to return the bottle?

Throwing the eggs on the plate and slapping some bread on top, he carried the food and a glass of water to his room. He wanted to move as quickly as possible so he could run out and get some if needed. He almost tripped as he walked down the hall but it seemed some god was looking out for him.

Nico was sitting up and staring at him when he walked in. "Wh- when did you-" _Snap._ He froze mid-step as they both looked to the floor. Biting his lip, Will lifted his foot and watched his headphones flop back down with a thud, now in two pieces.

"Son of a bitch."


	5. Never leave a guest at home when you go shopping. Even if they're injured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: wants to post longer chapters.  
Also me: gets fatigued very easily and often has trouble writing a long chapter thus cutting out "unimportant" details.
> 
> Also, bringing in these two earlier than I had planned.

Will hadn't expected to be at the store this long. He just needed food, gauze, medical tape, painkillers and a new pair of Blutooth headphones (which he wouldn't even be getting that day because they were expensive and none were the right color.) But apparently everyone else in the city had decided that they needed to get groceries too.

The pharmacy was relatively quiet though, so he was thankful for that. After food shopping, he didn't think he could handle any more upset mothers and their toddlers trying to get a discount. _It's a two dollar can of soup, Karen, you don't need a fucking discount-_

He shook his head and looked at the bottle he was holding. He could get it, or he could get more for a few dollars extra, but that would really depend on the total of everything else. The anti-bacterial was already bringing the total up by a fair ammount.

"Dammit, Seaweed Brain. I told you this was the wrong aisle."

He lifted his head to look at the voice. There was a woman with blonde, curly hair pulled into a ponytail. She was a little over average height and had a grey jacket hastily thrown over a red shirt. She was talking to a taller man with dark hair in choppy waves that reminded Will of the ocean. Actually, the ocean image was emphasized by his sea-green eyes. He wore a well loved blue hoodie with distressed jeans. There was a shop basket in one of his hands that only had some bottles of water and a bag of jelly beans.

"Well, we can at least get some ibuprofen. That'll be handy, right?" He asked the blonde as he glanced cautiously at Will for a moment.

"No. We need to save as much as we can. Unless you're willing to put the jelly beans back."

Glancing back to the shelf, he noticed a little tag. "Buy 1 get 1 half off" it read in a bold cherry red. He glanced at them again. _He really was not cut out for this city._ "If you really need it, I could buy you guys a bottle." He offered quietly.

Blonde whipped around to face him, her stormy grey eyes filled with distrust. Her... Boyfriend? Looked just as wary. Will felt his chest tighten and his ear started ringing. "I mean, it won't be much more to me. I was gonna buy one anyway and there's a sale..." His voice trailed.

"You're not a New Yorker." Not a question. "Well no..." Will replied as if it was, his cheeks burning. The guy sounded like he was from Brooklyn and that somehow made him more nervous. "Look, I was just offering. If you don't want it then-"

"No, we do." _What?_ "We just...weren't expecting anyone to be...nice." She definitely thought he was gonna try to ask for something. Probably something sexual in nature. Will decided not to smile at them. Instead he grabbed a second bottle and felt the regret of not grabbing a basket as well creep up on him. He could feel their eyes boring holes in him. Without a word he started walking to the next aisle, two new shadows trailing behind him.

He reached for some medical tape when a hand came into his peripheral view. Turning, he watched the man grab said medical tape, along with another roll and put them into his basket. Then he took the disinfectant and the bottles and set them in as well. "Uhh-"

"You looked like you were gonna drop everything."

"Oh." _Well that was nice._ "I'm Will, by the way."

The two blinked at him. The scary blonde looked slightly amused while her partner seemed taken off-guard. "Percy. This is Annabeth." She smacked his arm for that one.

"Oh good. For a second there I was afraid your name was actually "seaweed brain"." Will chuckled. They did not. "Ah ha ha... Right." He turned back to the shelves and handed off two boxes of gauze pads, some bandages and a single box of Hello Kitty band-aids. He couldn't resist. Annabeth eyed his items carefully before grabbing some of the same. Plain band-aids though. She must not have been a fan of the patterned.

"Making a first aid kit?" Percy tilted his head slightly.

"Oh, uh... No. I'm a nurse and that means sometimes my friends come to me for, uh, you know. Medical assistance."

They nodded. That seemed to be the end of it. He walked them up to the counter to pay. "Yo, Will. My man. You need to stop picking up strays like this. They're gonna take all your money." Cecil joked as he watched them approach.

Sometimes Will really hated his friends. "Oh hush, Cecil. I am buying a single item for them. That's all." He said as Annabeth put his things on the counter. Cecil gave a low whistle.

"You empty out _another_ first aid kit?"

"I told you to shut up."

Percy snickered. He didn't care for Percy anymore. Cecil grinned to himself and gave him his total. He payed as the items were put in his bags. "Dude, you should get one of those foldable carts for when you gotta do grocery runs. That way it won't be so difficult to lug around."

"But then you wouldn't be able to hide it under the counter like that." He said as he took his bags. Annabeth and Percy stared, bug-eyed at his bags. Cecil shook the extra bottle at them to get their attention. Will could not have fled faster.

* * *

The moment the apartment door opened, Will could hear the t.v. playing quietly. That meant Nico had moved to the living room at some point. Was he surprised? Not really, no. Was he upset? Oh hell yeah. He'd specifically told him to only leave the bedroom for the bathroom. Was that really so hard to do?

He stepped inside, ready to say something and instead found himself screeching. Nico had found his game. The game none of his friends even knew existed. And he was playing it.

Or he was until Will shrieked. "You sound like a pterodactyl." Was all he said before turning back to the game. They both watched Miku's character model sob on the ground and pound on the floor. In the few seconds he'd looked away, he'd managed a drop out.

"Wh- how- why-"

"Why was this in your nightstand anyway?" Nico asked as he went back to the song select menu. "I mean, that's a pretty weird place to keep a rhythm game."

"W- I didn't want my friends to think I was weird- Why were you going through my nightstand?!"

"As if bringing a half dead person you found in an alley wasn't weird." The brunet deadpanned as he switched to the diva rooms. "And I was bored, so I thought I'd at least find out what kind of stuff you were into." Will's face was burning as he shut the door and started carrying the groceries to the kitchen. "I will say that this was the only thing I found surprising."

"Not another word. And stop playing my game!" Will was still trying to figure out why he was so embarrassed over a simple little game. Other guys played Project Diva too. Granted they were mostly in Japan...

Nico switched to channel surfing and paused. "You have internet but no cable? What kind of person are you?"

"Oh hush!" And that was that. They would have continued, but the news, of all thing, caught their attention.

_"Three people were found with only minor injuries, but the building's oldest resident, a woman by the name of Melissa Gordan, was found dead, trapped in her own bedroom as fire filled her apartment. While it remains unclear how the fire started, arson investigators suspect that it was actually a meta with pyro-"_

Will took the remote and turned off the t.v. filling the room with silence. He glared at the dark screen for a long time without saying anything.

"They always jump to blame them, huh?" Nico broke the silence. "_Metas_... I could never tell if it's intend as insult or just say it to separate them."

"I think it's wrong to seperate people like that." Will said, dropping the remote and walking back into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't see that coming, huh?
> 
> Yeah, I know. I said no gods. Never said no powers though... I also know a lot of things are pretty obvious now, but for the sake of the story, I'll pretend it's not.
> 
> Let minnow what you guys think of this au so far.


	6. Don't forget your friends in favor of an attractive stranger (without telling them first)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very bad at posting consistently.
> 
> Am I adhd? Heck if I know. Here's this mess of a chapter.

Will liked having his bed back. Though it would have been better if Nico had woken up when someone started knocking at his door. That was the situation he was in. Happily tucked in, wearing his favorite PJs and listening to someone continually knock on his door. Didn't people know he had work?

Evidently, ignoring them did nothing. He sighed and exited his warm spot and walked to the door. He paused as he passed the couch to see if Nico was dead. The bastard was still sleeping peacefully. Will was almost tempted to smother him, but that would have made all his efforts go to waste.

The door was opened and he was greeted by the sight of his friends glaring at him. Except Leo. He was all smiles. "See? I told you he wasn't dead."

"In that case, he should have a good explanation as to why he ignored us." Reyna said, glaring at him like he just kicked her dogs. He swallowed thickly and his eyes darted to Jason and Piper. The only two missing were...

"You better start talking right now mister! I called you three times yesterday! Three! Did you pick up?" Piper looked ready to slap him. "No, you didn't! The great Will Solace, who even answers his phone when he's sick, didn't answer his phone all day."

Jason peeked around Will as Piper continued her rant. "There's a person on his couch."

The group fell silent. Together, they all leaned to look around their blonde friend. Reyna shoved past him to look at the sleeping man better. Nico shifted and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, burrying his nose. Leo tried to follow Reyna's example, but Will moved out of the way to let them all in. They all moved quickly to get a better look at him.

Reyna's eyes had softened slightly, and Will could see them tracing the angry, red line that just barely peeked out from under the blanket. His own eyes were drawn to the dark lashes hovering over Nico's pake cheeks. He looked so serene while he slept, contrasting the cautious look that masked his features while he was awake. Will had noticed the way he'd guard his emotions and how he would avoid the windows when they were open.

"Who are they?" Jason asked.

"More importantly, are they a dude or a chick so I know whether or not I can call dibs?"

"I thought you were with that lady, Calypso?" Will raised a brow at his friend. Leo shrank slightly as Piper and Jason looked at him as well. "Well, we, ah... I'm gonna go make some coffee." The latino said before darting to the kitchen.

Piper rolled her eyes. "They probably broke up _again_. I swear, those two drive me up the wall sometimes." Jason started nodding along with her. "I mean, at least when we broke up it wasn't over something stupid. And there weren't any hurt feelings. Right?"

Jason hesitated. Will knew nothing good could come of this. "Hey, why don't we all sit down and wait for him to wake up? Hmm? Doesn't that sound like a good idea?" He could hear his own pitch rising with each word.

"There's no need." _Huh?_ They looked at Reyna. "He's awake."

Will looked down at Nico. The man appeared to still be asleep, but after a moment his eye cracked open and his gaze fixed on Reyna. "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. How long you been awake?"

"Dibs."

Will correctly assumed that ment he'd been awake since Leo almost called "dibs". He glanced at Reyna, who's eyes were locked with Nico's. Both carefully guarded their expressions, one having an easier time due to the blanket, but Will could tell she was suspicious in the way her lips tightened and her lower eyelids came up slightly.

Jason and Piper sat down, gently pulling Will to the floor. Perhaps they were worried Reyna would start a fight. Then it was over. Nico sat up and swung his legs off the couch. Reyna moved the blanket so she could sit in "her spot".

"Whoa. Will, did you empty your entire first aid kit on him?" Piper asked, looking at the bandages on his leg and torso. Jason seemed to have just noticed them, having been caught up in other aspects of Nico's current appearance.

"Why didn't you take him to a hospital?"

"I don't like hospitals." Nico said flatly, then stood and limped to the bathroom. Will frowned. "I coulda gotten you some painkillers if you told me."

Nico grunted. "Ass." Will pouted. Jason nodded. "Yes, he does have one."

"The bisexuals are at it again." Piper smiled as Leo came back with coffee for her and Reyna. Leo chuckled as Will rolled his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Jay. Now, where's my coffee?"

"Make it yourself, Pumpkin head."

"Need I remind you that this is my apartment and I can kick you out when I want?" Leo paused, then went to the kitchen.

Nico, who'd returned at some point wearing Will's one black shirt, watched him go before returning to the couch. "Pumpkin head?" He quirked his brow. Will felt his face get hot and he brought his knees to his chest. "You get stuck in a paper mache pumpkin one time... It was just a Halloween costume!"

"Still the funniest thing I've ever seen, bro." Leo said as he returned with coffee for Jason and Will. He handed the cups over and smiled to Nico. "He walked around in that thing for three hours before anyone tried to get it off him. It took the three of us and Reyna's lucky knife."

Nico snorted and shook his head. Then he glanced at Reyna. "So... Who are you people? I assume you're all friends, but beyond that..."

"I'm Leo hot-man mcshizzel. Lady killer and inventor extraordinaire. Try not to get too jealous." Leo grinned and tucked a knuckle under his chin. Nico was not impressed. "Tough crowd..."

"I'm Piper, this is Jason and that's Reyna."

"Who are you?" Reyna finally asked. She was clearly still unsure about him, but she'd lost a bit of the suspicion.

"Nico." He replied after a moment. Will had noticed the way he hesitated the first time too, but he seemed more sure that time. "Well, Nico, how do you take your coffee?"

The black haired man shrugged and looked at his leg. Leo's eye was twitching as he returned to the kitchen. Two sets of brown eyes watched him go. Piper shifted in her seat.

"So, what happened?" She asked, gesturing to Nico's leg and torso.

"I got shot and stabbed."

They probably weren't expecting that based on how they both stiffened. There were some pops and Leo shouted. "Ay ay ay! Your toaster just zapped me!"

"Why were you using- no. Don't wanna know. Just don't mess it up. I need it for breakfast tomorrow."

Leo walked back in with the last two cups of coffee. He handed one mug to Nico, then sat between him and Reyna. He smiled as he sipped his coffee. Nico, on the other hand, stared at his for a long moment before setting it down on the coffee table.

"Why are you all here?"

"We were worried about our friend."

He nodded and shifted in his seat. Will couldn't help but notice the nervous energy about him and the tension in his shoulders. He hadn't seen it since he'd first woke the day before and upon his return from his, unexpectedly long, shopping trip. He could tell Reyna had noticed and wasn't surprised. She had been so similar when they first met her, as he recalled...

* * *

_Reyna's jaw had been clenched so tight, Will feared she'd crack her teeth. Her harsh glare never stayed in one place. The only people she'd shown softness to were Jason and Piper. They'd found her, after all. Given her shelter._

_She had looked so odd to Will. A perfectly neat braid draped over one shoulder, part of her hair hanging in jagged layers over her left ear. Jason's ridiculously purple shirt hanging just loosely enough to not accentuate her figure, Piper's longest skirt covering her legs and worn combat boots that looked like they'd seen _much_ better days._

_Of course, Will never judged her, but he really didn't care for the way she watched him as he treated her cuts and scrapes. As if he was the enemy._

_"You must make lots of friends." He's muttered to himself. "I can't _imagine_ why anyone would try to stab you so much."_

_That had earned him an intense glare. "Are you trying to be funny?"_

_He'd just rolled his eyes and gone back to work. Somehow, that had earned her respect. Maybe it was because he wasn't bothered by her coldness. Or maybe it was him yelling at Leo for almost setting himself on fire not five minutes_ later.

* * *

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He blinked at Jason. The other blonde rolled his eyes.

"He was asking if you have work today, _Nurse Joy._"

_Shit._ He leapt to his feet and ran to his room, coffee abandoned on the floor. He barely glanced at the clock to get a feel for how quickly he had to move. The answer: quick. He really needed to set alarms for himself. And reminders. All of the reminders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure how to end the chapter so... Yeah.
> 
> Unrelated but, anyone else hc Leo as trans? Because I do. Is that important? Not really.


	7. Because Nico is great at making friends, isn't he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When will i finish this chapter, I wonder.

Nico watched Will dash out of the apartment door, leaving him with..._them._ He could have asked them to come back later. Instead, he ran out and left Reyna in charge. As if Reyna was the most trustworthy.

Nico had already noticed how much she was watching him, but now she was free to do it openly. She didn't even bat an eye as Leo snatched the remote from it's reasting place and started flipping through the channels. It made him uncomfortable. _So why not return the favor?_

He took in every detail he could: the slight furrow in her bow, the caution in her dark brown eyes (not dissimilar from his own) and the faint scar on her cheek. Surprisingly, her shoulders were relaxed, so it wasn't that she saw him as a threat. _Maybe it's because she already knows you're vulnerable_, his brain provided.

Her skin was a soft, light brown which made her clothes, a simple purple tee with jeans, seem more fashionable. Leo had a similar complextion, but Nico found his warmer.

Actually, Leo was unusually warm. He didn't like that.

"For the love of all that's holy, would you hurry up and pick something already?!" Piper shouted. Nico almost cursed at himself for letting her draw his attention.

"I will! Just looking for something good. It's not like Will has any good channels." Leo pouted. He glanced at the table. "Hey man, do you not like coffee? You ain't even touched yours." He sounded...sad? Disappointed? Gods, Nico couldn't even tell. Emotions were hard.

Instead of replying, he shrugged.

"Real conversationalist here, huh Rara?"

"Don't call me that." Reyna glared at the smaller latino.

"So, Nico... Where do you come from?" Piper asked with a nervous smile. He hesitated. He could very well tell them about _that place_ but it didn't seem like the right answer. "I was born in Venice."

"Italy?"

"No, Germany." He rolled his eyes at Jason. Leo started laughing. "_Italy_. Man, is there another Venice we don't know about."

"I- I was just-"

Reyna reached out as if to grab her coffee, but grabbed the mug in front of Nico instead. He watched her silently as she took a sip. Their eyes met over the cup and he quickly looked away. After a moment, she spoke. "Oh. I seem to have grabbed the wrong cup." Her voice was flat.

"Huh? Why would you do that?" The three looked at her in confusion as she reached around Leo to hand it back to it's rightful owner. "A simple mistake considering all of Will's mugs look the same."

Nico took the mug, then his eyes darted to meet hers. He was thankful but confused. How could she tell why he hadn't tried to drink his? She also seemed to know his question as she gently nudged Leo away so she could sit closer.

Everyone except Nico rotated seats. Jason happily sitting next to Reyna and cleaning his glasses. It was odd. Another thing he didn't care for, but the trio started their conversation again.

"You're like me." Reyna started. "How old were you?"

"Wh-" his heart was racing, but he didn't let that show in his face. He was already tense from when everyone changed seats. "You know what I mean. And I know what happened. People like us don't just get _out_. By the looks of it, they were desperate to keep you." She gestured slightly to his wounds. "So answer my question: how old?"

He blinked at her. _Could she really be...?_ "10. My sister had just died, so there wasn't anyone left to look for me." His eyes drifted to the dark reflection in the mug. He hadn't thought about her in so long. Now he almost wanted to see how much of her was left in his appearance. The freckles were likely gone, and he'd gotten so pale that the olive undertone in his skin was practically unnoticeable.

"I see... I was 12." Reyna said sadly. "I've been looking for my sister for the past two years. Since I..."

He looked at her. "Why did you leave?"

"I got tired of it. You can only see so much blood spill before it becomes too much. And I..." She looked at her feet. He understood. "You?"

"They wanted me to kill my...extraction team." He tapped the mug. "They'd seen her in Canada and wanted to send my team. I..._we_ couldn't do it."

_When had the room gotten so quiet?_

His head snapped up and he stared harshly at Leo and Piper. They were staring with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, did you say 'kill'?"

Reyna glared at them for a moment before taking Nico's hand and leading him out of the room. He couldn't explain it himself, but it helped relieve some of the tightness in his chest. "They don't mean to be rude, but sometimes..."

She guided him to sit on the bed, likely noticing he was still a bit wobbly on his feet. Nico let the room fall silent and slowly let the tension out of his shoulders. Reyna sat beside him and he felt...safe.

Will had taken hours to even seem trustworthy, and he wore his heart on his sleeve. Yet there Nico was, feeling safe enough to rest his head on Reyna's shoulder after she'd seemed most likely to kill him. Maybe it was precisely because she didn't bother to hide her distrust. Or, perhaps it was because she _knew._ She understood what it was like to run away from a life like that. To have people want her dead if she's so much as seen by them.

"Do they ever stop looking?" He whispered. He felt so unnaturally fragile...

"Eventually." Relief. "They stopped looking for me after a year. Almost caught me a few times, but Jason helped a lot. As did Piper. And Will..." She smiled at one of the posters on his wall. "He convinced a few that I had amnesia. That was... About a year ago now."

"So I can trust him?"

"There's no one else I would trust with my life so easily." He nodded, closing his eyes and sighing. Then she spoke again. "Are you going to tell us?"

He knew what she meant. Gods, he knew all to well, but.. "Eventually. I just need time to stop thinking about _them_ every time I think about it."

Reyna nodded and gently wrapped her arm around him. She probably already knew and just wanted him to admit it.

"Ready to head back out there?"

"Gods no, I might gut one like a fish." She laughed lightly at that. It was going to take him some time to get used to them. A lot of time.

* * *

_Annabeth looked nervously around the dingy warehouse. Cobwebs hung low and she was afraid someone was goin to jump out and stab her, or worse, a spider._

_"Percy, what if he-"_

_"He's not dead." He said sharply. "He wouldn't give them the satisfaction. You know him as well as I do. He's gonna show up eventually, alive and well, and tell them to fuck off in a really creative way._

_"Or violent. It's hard to tell which way he'll go sometimes."_

_She sighed and sat down. "Percy, I _saw_ him get shot. If he went to a hospital, there's no way they haven't found him. We should just move on and-"_

_"He'll be here." He looked her in the eye. "He promised he would."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> answer: in like a day.
> 
> I grow increasingly unsure of how to write slow-burn type stuff, and I really want to get to some stuff that happens later but...  
Hey, I know! Let's see if you guys can guess some of the stuff that's going on. Or stuff that's gonna happen.
> 
> I will even take suggestions for chapters you want to see. Because I have no idea what I'm doing and need help.


	8. Part of the picture (just not all of it yet)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I should be working on angst, but my Will muse is back and that never lasts long, so here we go.
> 
> Fun fact: I hate writting less than 1k words in a chapter. Thus the first couple of chapters are my least favorite.

A loud yawn slipped through Will's lips as he opened the door to the apartment. He was tired. Anyone would be if they had been finishing up and Kayla forced them to stay because a patient had _somehow_ been lost.

It was most likely Lester's fault, yet everyone else had to suffer for it. How a _teenager_ had caused so much trouble...

He glanced at the couch. Nico's dark hair was spilling over one arm whil his leg was draped over the back. There was a travel show on, though Will couldn't tell you which one if his life depended on it. The most he could tell was that they were in Italy.

"That can't be comfortable." He sut the door and put his keys on the hook.

"Do you see me complaining?"

"Fair." He yawned again. "How'd it go with them after I left?" To be honest, he'd been worried the moment he'd clocked in. He'd become.so used to the others coming by to visit some days that he hadn't even thought about how Nico would feel. It put a sour taste in his mouth and a twist in his gut.

"It was...weird. Reyna and I chatted alone for a bit until Leo found your porn stash."

"Oh that's ni- wait _what?_" His heart froze as his bag suspended in the air, only moments away from being set down. Of all the things Leo could have found. Now he'd _never_ hear the end of it.

Nico shifted, pulling his leg down. "Oh yeah. Apparently he got bored and just started looking through your stuff. He said he was looking for something called Berri?"

Will could feel his cheeks getting warmer by the second. _Why was Leo even looking for that old thing?_ "Anyway," Nico contiued, "Jason started yelling at him to put it back and Piper thought Reyna should handle it."

"I...see. I need to find a better place to put, ehm, that stuff."

"We put it in your closet on the top shelf. Figured if Piper had trouble getting it, he couldn't possibly get it." Will's feet pulled him over to the couch. He glanced at Nico's face, and found his eyes. Nico had a bit of a quizzical expression. "Leo was... Unusually calm about the whole thing."

It was Will's turn to hesitate. "Well, he's known me since we were little." He looked at his pants, picking at the fabric. "We grew up in the same house, so we're practically brothers." Nico shifted to actually sit up.

"We were in the same foster home, back in Texas. Our moms... They'd died when we were still young, and our family didn't want us. It was luck really. Good or bad, I can't say for sure.

"The two of us were thick as thieves. Inseparable. I think it's cause we both were dealing with a lot of guilt over our mothers, but that doesn't matter. I got stuck with him and he got stuck with me. I don't even know how we ended up staying together." He nodded.

"And the others? How did you two meet them?"

"Well," Will paused to think, "Piper met us in high school. We'd gotten in some legal trouble and gotten sent to this "wilderness school" for "troubled youths" and she was there. At first she seemed to hate us, but Leo grew on her and I... Well, I guess I'm likeable."

"What'd you do?" Nico asked.

Will wasn't sure how to feel about Nico's curiosity. Then again, they barely knew anything about each other. "I stole a car." Silence. He glanced at Nico.

"Wait- that's it?"

"Well yeah. I was only 14." Nico raised his eyebrow. "What?"

"By the time _I_ was 14 I'd already done much worse than _that._" _Huh?_ "Why'd you do it?"

Will took a moment to process what he'd just said. "Um... Leo got into some trouble and we couldn't get our foster mom involved because... Quite frankly, she was an abusive bitch, but that's beside the point. I stole a car, we tried to flee. Clearly that didn't work out.

"Anyway, Piper was in that school for kinda the same reason, except she didn't know the guy who's car she stole. Once she got to know us, we just couldn't shake her. Especially in the brief time I dated her. That didn't really work out, cause we've always been better off as friends.

"Then we all went to college here in New York. That was where we met Jason. Piper was smitten right away, but she was worried about introducing us. I guess it was because of all the people I'd slept with. But I was more interested in his roommate, Frank. You haven't met him, but he's part of our group. Good guy, kinda like a giant teddy bear, but very straight-"

"You're rambling." Nico deadpanned, breaking his trail of thought. Will jutted out his bottom lip and stared at the pale man.

"Are you gonna let me tell my story or not?"

"Fine, fine. Go ahead."

"Thank you." He scratched his head, trying to remember where he was. "Well, pretty much all of us graduated around the same time. I went to med school to become a nurse and we all really did our own things. Then... Two years ago Reyna literally ran into Jason and Piper.

"Piper was _going_ to break up with him that day, but they ended up staying together while Reyna was getting patched up. I think they were afraid I'd kill her in her sleep since she kept snapping at me at first. But I shut that down pretty quick. I'd never kill a patient."

_He remembered the day he'd finally snapped at Reyna. She had complained about the way he took out stitches, really anything she could. Just being the worst patient ever. She'd later confesed it was because she wanted to know if he'd been faking his calm demeanor. Which she wasn't entirely wrong about. He was just a very patient person._

_He'd finally had enough and glared at her. "That's very rude, ya know." He'd said, watching her pause. "If you'd rather do this yourself, be my guest. But, of everyone in this room, I am the one that went to medical school. Now, can I finish my work?" She'd nodded and stayed silent the rest of the time._

"It took us a while to really let her in, and it took the first guy showing up at their apartment for her to explain anything to us, but there's not much anyone can do about that.

"Then Frank met Hazel-" Nico gasped. "What?"

"I- um. Y- uh..." Nico looked a bit nervous. "You know Hazel? Hazel Levesque?"

"Uh... Yeah actually. Great girl." Will nodded. Nico leaned forward. "Can you get into contact with her?" He said, sounding... Excited?

"Of course.. You know her?" Will arched his brow as he unlocked his phone and went into his contacts. "Know her? She's practically my little sister, and she saved my life at least a dozen-" he stopped himself. Will's thumb hovered over the call button.

There was a beat of silence. "Do you want me to call her?" That seemed to snap Nico out of his thoughts.

"N-no... I shouldn't... It's late, and-"

"Alright. If you ever want to call her..." Will said, offering his phone. Nico nodded and he showed him his unlock pattern.

* * *

_"Hello? Will? Why are you calling so late?"_

_"Hazel..."_

_"...Nico?"_

_"I'm so glad you're alright."_

_"W- wait, Nico-"_

_Click_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this chapter great? Maybe not. But I think I did pretty good on it.
> 
> I don't really have notes or anything on how all this is gonna go. Just a couple bullet points in my head. Next chapter will probably dive into Nico's story a little bit. Probably.


	9. Don't wake Will up at 5am or he will kill a patient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now back to working on this randomly and possibly taking a month to finish.
> 
> I shouldn't be starting this at 6am when I can't sleep because my muscles are sore.  
Nor should I exclusively work on this at night when I'm starting to get sleepy and letting my phone inch closer and closer to death.

Nico blinked and sat up, confused. He was really cold for some reason. And there was country music playing. _Why was there country music playing? And why was it looping one part?_

"Oh good. He's awake."

He looked bleerily up at Will. The blonde was smiling a little too widely as he held up the blanket Nico had been using. The Italian rubbed his eyes and shuddered as the music paused for a moment. Something wasn't adding up in his head. Then it crashed down on him like a ton of bricks. _He'd called Hazel._

"Now, might I know why Hazel has been trying to call me since about 3am? Thus waking me up as soon as do not disturb shut off at 5am, a whole hour before I was actually supposed to wake up?"

"Why does your do not disturb turn off at 5am?" Nico asked, voice thick with sleep.

"Because no reasonable human being is awake enough to contact each other so ridiculously early." Will threw the blanket at him. "Except, apparently Hazel isn't a reasonable human being! And now I've been listening to the same 10 seconds of a song on loop for the past hour!" The blanket was harder to get untangled from than it should have been. "So why didn't you just answer?"

"Oh, I did. You wanna know what happened? I told her I'd call back when I woke you up. Life was peaceful for about 10 minutes. Then I realized you could sleep through a damn hurricane!" Will was seething. Nico decided that he would not wake him up at any point in time because he was actually a little terrifying. Had he not lived the life he had, he probably would have tried to disappear into the cusions. Even so, it was a tempting prospect.

The phone was thrusted at him and the loop started again. "Answer it before I do something that'll probably get me arrested."

Nico didn't seem to have much of a choice. He took the phone and watched Will turn to the kitchen. Turning back, his thumb hovered over the bright green circle. Hazel's bright smile and golden eyes taunted him in pixels. _You're afraid of lil' ol' me? No wonder you almost died._

Then he swiped.

The numbers started counting up and he swallowed thickly. _Why am I so nervous? It's not like they're listening in._

He held the phone up to his ear, her voice already coming through. "_Will, I swear to all the gods, if you did this just to silence your phone I will send Frank all the way there to-_"

"Hazel..." He felt like he was going to cry. Hearing her voice again brought back so many memories. Some good, some not so good, and some... He'd rather not think about those. It was why he'd cut the call short before. Emotions were hard enough to deal with. It had taken an entire _day_ for him to work up the nerve to even call her. And then it had been so late...

"_Nico...? Is it really you?_" She sounded near tears herself. "_H- why are you using Will's phone? How do you know him? When did-_"

"I got out." A laughed bubbled it's way out of his chest and he felt tears running down his cheeks. "I actually did it... I left. Ha ha!" He was getting hysterical, and it only got worse as he realized that. He shouldn't have been feeling so many overwhelming emotions just by talking to Hazel, yet he was. She was the first person from his old life that he'd spoken to since he'd left. He still hadn't gone to see _them_ yet. His leg was still in rough shape and he wasn't sure he'd be okay to walk through the city.

He started to faintly here Hazel's voice again, and he felt fingertips gently touching his shoulder. Blinking to clear his eyes, he glanced up at Will. The blonde's eyes were wide, filled with concern. He seemed to be asking if he was okay.

"I... Sorry about that. I don't know what that..." Nico's voice trailed as he looked away. "_It's okay, Nico. I was like that too, the first couple of days._

_"It's... hard, hearing from someone from that time. For me, at least, it's because it feels so...wrong. But in my heart, I know it's not."_

It made sense, in a way. They were told that people who left would be a danger to them. A liability. Yet talking to Hazel and Reyna felt so... He wasn't sure how to decribe it.

Will slowly moved back to the kitchen. He was clearly still worried, but he had to get ready for work. Nico assumed, anyway. "Yeah. Thanks, Haze." He smiled softly. "It... It's so good to talk to you again, _sorellina_."

She was quiet for a moment. It worried him a bit.

"_Do... Do you really see _me_ as a little sister?"_ He bit his lip.

"Would I have said it if I didn't?" He let his mind wander through his memories. "We've saved each other so many times. And Kelp Head always said we were like family."

"_He did, didn't he? ... Did they make it out too?_" Ice filled his chest. How could he tell her if he wasn't sure himself? "_Ah, wait, don't answer that! You still haven't told me why you're using Will's phone. Or how y'all know each other._"

Another pause. "He saved my life." She waited for an explanation. "I... They got me pretty good. The blonde idiot dragged my half dead ass to his apartment-"

"Don't make me regret that."

Hazel giggled. "_Yeah, that sounds like Will._" She yawned, "_always willing to help out a poor soul._"

"Get some sleep. Knowing you, you haven't slept since I first called." He felt a.pang of guilt for that. He had just been so unsure when he first called... "_Okay. Be safe. I'll talk to you again soon, I hope?_"

"_Prometta. Buon riposo,_ okay?"

"_Okay..._" Her soft voice trailed. He pulled the phone from his ear and hung up, glancing at Will. He'd caught the blonde staring at him over a bowl of oatmeal.

"Uh... Imma just..." Will took the phone and walked to his room with his bowl. He was truely an odd one, in Nico's mind.

* * *

A shower was exactly what he needed to feel refreshed. At least, that's what he was telling himself as he stepped out. Perhaps if the water had been able to stay warm for him.

Nico sighed. At least _there_ they had a day of rest where he could soak in a nice warm bath for as long as he wanted. Even the communal bath was pretty nice. But here...? The warm water went so fast. He'd rushed to wash his hair before he got too cold.

In short? It sucked.

Even more so when he started to think about what to do after. It was rare for him to find shows he liked, especially since metas were becoming more comon. People were constantly scrambling to include them, but they were always either the butt of a joke or a villain. It annoyed him. _Especially since you know they're just people_, a small voice reminded him.

With a sigh, he moved to the mirror to detangle his hair. Fingers running through his damp bangs, eyes peeking out from in between. 

It had gotten so long since he last cut it, but it helped him hide his face. He needed that at the moment. Or something like it. Just a way to make himself less obvious to _them_ as well as the rest of society. That was gonna be a lot harder with his new-

His fingers froze, his hand hovering over his ear as hair gently slipped bewteen his fingers when it could. _The cut shouldn't look that good._

Letting his hair go, his fingers trailed the cut he'd gotten on his face. The skin was pink, not nearly as angry as it had been when last he checked, and it didn't look nearly as likely to leave a noticeable scar. _How long had it been again? How long had he been staying with Will?_

Thought started swirling around his mind. Only one truely stood out to him though. _Something isn't right here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone please help me
> 
> Not only do I need someone that knows Italian so I can really capture Nico's essence, but I have no idea how to write this stuff without rushing it.  
Don't be like me kids: plan your writing out. Don't just start writting because you have a vague idea and your rp attempt failed miserably.


	10. Jason and Nico get scary (for like two seconds)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think now things are really gonna start picking up. And I get to the parts I had the most ideas for.
> 
> Also, don't ask why I went for Jason's pov for this one. The muse showed up and slapped it down. It's been watching me since Christmas, waiting for me to finish.

One week. That was how long Nico had been acting strange. Jason didn't like it one bit. Especially since it was making Will nervous.

The nurse had said Nico was healing up nicely and could leave if he really wanted to, but he hadn't. In fact, he'd made himself quite at home in the little apartment. They'd all seen it when they'd visit during the day. He'd started doing chores while Will was at work, and even started cooking. But that wasn't the strange behaviour.

He was watching all of them more closely. Whenever one of them intentionally touched him, he'd stare at them for way too long. For touchy people like Will and Leo, that meant hours of that harsh glare.

With Hazel and Frank coming back soon, it had them all on edge. Reyna was the only one almost entirely unaffected. In fact, he'd stopped watching her after he'd spent all of Tuesday alone with her. And she tried so hard to calm their nerves, saying she needed to have a chat with Will soon, but she wasn't much help.

Maybe that was why Jason decided to see him on his own.

Three loud knocks, followed by two soft ones. That had become the code for Nico to actually open the door, since he was always so paranoid. Some days, you could hear Italian opera playing. That day, it sounded like Vivaldi. Four seasons, Winter. _Allegro non molto._ It was his favorite, according to Will. He rarely listened past the first movement.

The door opened and Nico raised his brow at him. His hair was pulled back and a pink and white plaid apron was draped over his (Will's) clothes. The cuffs of his pants were rolled up showing off his bare feet and small ankle tattoo. It was of a flower, a monk's hood, Jason thought he'd called it.

"I was mopping the kitchen." He explained, not that he needed to.

"Ah." Jason replied dumbly as he let him in. He then immediately returned to the kitchen as the blonde made himself comfortable. "So, Will tells us you know Hazel."

The music changed. _Merry Go Round of Life._ An interesting choice. "Yes. We used to work together."

"Right... At that mysterious job that's only talked about vaguely where you used to kill people." The mop banged against the wall. "Or was there another job you've failed to mention?"

Silence. The atmosphere felt so heavy and the room seemed darker. Jason threw a glare to roughly where Nico stood. After a long moment, the raven-haired man finally walked out and leaned against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest defensively.

They stared at each other for a long time. "She'll be coming back soon."

"So I've heard." Nico narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with that. That it wasn't going to cause _problems._"

Nico moved closer. "I don't like what you're implying." Jason couldn't explain why that was what set him off, but he rose from his seat and got nearly nose-to-nose with the shorter man. "I'm not _implying_ anything. I'm _saying_ that you mentioned being _ordered_ to _kill_ someone." He poked Nico in the chest.

Nico winced and blinked at Jason's finger. Then he glared up at him. "One, I don't do that anymore, so drop it, Grace." His expression grew darker. "Two, even if I _did_, there are a million people I'd go after before her. And three, don't. Touch. Me."

"Or _what?_" Jason growled. There was a loud pop as the power surged and blew out one of the bulbs in the light. Nico barely flinched.

"You don't want to go down this road, Grace." He whispered. He was met with silence. "I'm not going to kill Hazel. That order was the _reason_ I left. You do _not_ get to say things like that. And you_ especially_ don't get to act all holier-than-thou about the fact that I've killed before."

Then, barely above a whisper as he glanced away, "I didn't have a choice in the matter."

Jason softened and took a step back. He'd definitely heard that last part, though he probably wasn't supposed to. The power suge had knocked off the music, and the closest to silence as New York could get, was probably the only reason he could.

Pushing up his glasses, he sighed softly. "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... I'll change that bulb real quick."

Most of his fears and anger had subsided as he preformed such a simple task. He glanced at Nico, who hadn't moved. "I-... What was it like? Working with her?"

"She was always so focused on getting stuff done. And she was good at her job."

"And what job was that?"

"She made sure we got out. If things went south, or we needed a quick get away, or if we couldn't get away by walking through the streets, she was always there. She was one of the most dependable people there." Nico said, a fond tone in his voice.

Jason thought he had it. That he finally understood Nico. "You... You fancied-"

"Oh _gods_ no!" Nico interrupted. "She was like a little sister to me! And I'm gay! No way, in _any_ reality, is that a thing." The very thought seemed to utterly disgust him.

"Oh. I-... I am sorry." He gestured for him to sit down. They both sat silently. Things were infinitely more awkward now, but the tension was mostly gone. And the new bulb seemed to really brightened up the room.

"You grew up together?"

Nico smiled softly. "For the most part. She always wanted to make sure I was alright after training, and she was one of the few that came in knowing how to cook. We used to share the kitchens so much that people were actually surprised if only one of us was cooking.

"The only reason she was evac rather than having a job more like mine was because she didn't have the killer instinct. That and...one other reason." He murmured. Then he blinked. "Why am I telling you this?"

"You trust me?"

Nico hesitated. "Sure... Let's go with that." Jason nodded. It was comforting, at least, that Nico trusted him. He just hoped what he said next wouldn't upset him.

"So you're-"

"I'm not repeating it. I wasn't even planning on saying it in the first place." Nico glared at the corner of the floor. Jason watched him for a moment. "Why not?"

"Because it's only ever made my life more difficult..." Nico mumbled. Jason was confused. The raven haired man seemed to pick up on that, at least. "I used to have feelings for one of the guys in my squad. Then he volunteered me to join his girl's crew since she needed someone willing to distract people she couldn't that just didn't think he was all that. It... I figured it'd be better than making him flirt with people he obviously felt nothing for.

"And a few times I risked my own life trying to help him." He paused, not looking up from the floor. "Feelings like that... People would take advantage of it. People that you don't want having power over you. Especially someone as slimy as..."

Jason could tell he was moments away from naming someone. For whatever reason, his mind drifted to the guy who worked under him. Octagon or something. _Octavian?_ The guy had always seemed like he had a lot going on, and he could still remember when he figured out something about himself.

* * *

_The sickly looking blonde was lounging in his office, staring out at the city like he owned it. Jason didn't really have time to deal with him that day and asked what he wanted._

_"You know. I think I could get used to this office." He'd sneered watching the people below like they were ants under a magnifying glass. "It's just below your father's isn't it? So close to the boss."_

_"Dude, what-"_

_"I'd like a position like yours. It's too bad your daddy dearest gave it to you. I guess he wants to keep the business in the family."_

_"What are you on about?"_

_"Tell me. Does he know about your little secret?"_

* * *

He suddered at the memory. Nico glanced at him. "I think I get what you mean."

He felt so relieved when Nico didn't ask him to elaborate. Then his breath caught in his throat. Nico's fingers were running along the pink scratch on his face. _He couldn't possibly have figured it out already... Could he? It would explain his odd behaviour of the past week but-_

"I'm going out tomorrow. There's somewhere I have to be. Someone I need to see." Jason blinked. They both knew Will was off that day, and Nico had spending those days with him so they wouldn't get lonely. Even if they didn't say anything. Plus, Nico hadn't dared to even venture near the open windows yet.

"It's just something that I have to do." He said, mumbling "I really hope they're okay..." Jason wasn't sure he was supposed to hear that either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me starting this chapter: aww yeah! I know how this is gonna go!
> 
> Me finishing this chapter: well that was a disaster. Let's post it before I decide it has to be deleted because I hate it.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments please. :)


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